my FATHER’s DAY sTorY :)
I initially planned of waking up late this morning since
i didn’t get enough sleep for the past 2 nights but while still asleep i heard
some noise inside the room made by Titet who arrived from her graveyard duty. I
lazily opened my eyes and saw my good friend, Tatang from San Carlos, (who
stayed overnight at our crib) rising from bed. Then I remember, ooh its Father’s
Day and immediately thought of calling Papa dear to say my greetings.
He picked up the phone on its third ring and he
was almost laughing when he heard my voice and told me that he knew I was going
to call him:) I said my greetings with i love you of course (i always tell him
that and sometimes he answers back and sometimes he doesn’t heheh). Then he
asked me if I was going to talk to Mama when we’re done talking and then I said
nope,Pang this is your day so i shall talk ONLY with you, think ONLY about you
today and then he laughed again, I was imagining Papa’s face while he was
laughing and i missed him ;{ haven’t seen him for 2 weeks as of this writing
While I was waiting for my turn in the restroom after
Tatang, I tried to go back to sleep but found myself thinking of Papa instead
and so I gave in to the trip down memory lane, heheh!
I’ve always believed that both the father and the son
feel the same pride and joy for having each other. But stories and experiences
say that it takes a son to become a father for him to realise and value the
worth of his father. Well, they said it all, so i think soo too 
I am going to talk about my dear Papa Rudy since this is
his big day. I am writing this deliberately for him and i am hoping he can read
this but since he is not sooo "friendly, but trying hard to be friends with" the
internet and computer thingie for that matter, i’d better have this blog printed
and let him read this ;)
As far as I can remember I’ve always loved being with him
and proud of his presence. When I was younger I remember how he would wake up in
the middle of the night when i had my occasional fever (i had a very low
resistance when I was younger and would acquire fever every now and then) and
gave me tepid sponge bath, how he would make me take my oddly flavored
suspensions and tablets in just a finger’s snap. He would take turns with
Mama in bringing me to sleep and how he would snugged me tightly everytime my
most ever patient male old attendant, Lolo Elizer Villaflor, would insert his
needle right through my veins for my IV or so called "dextrose" in those days
;( He would never left me in the night until I dozed off to sleep and then he
would get some short sleeps then wake up again to give my scheduled medicines
for that particular wee hours of the morning. Can you imagine how sweet
Papa was?! :) I can only think and be grateful that he is my father.
I can also remember how strict he was and how how he
would whip me with his leather belt everytime I did stupid things then …most
especially saying bad words heared from people and playmates, not telling the
truth and going out of the house without their permission, and even my big
sister ang big brother were not spared from his powerful belt hahaha, and they
even had their last kneeling session alongside whipping during their high school
years when they fought over trivial matters and Papa could not just stop them
from shouting at each other and fighting like cats and dogs ;) But his being a
disciplinarian and obstinate could not lessen his points for being a truly
awesome father to me, to us. Its just his way and all those times while he was
spanking me and i was heartily crying through pain and fear, I never had a
single thought that he didn’t love me, never… all i thought that time was when
will he ever stop so i could stop crying and play again, hahaha!
He’s a loving father, very supportive infact, to the
point of making some of my school requirements and speeches in high school and
college. He would patiently wake me up at dawn so I could study when there were
scheduled periodicals and midterms. But the thing that always melts my heart is
when Papa would visit me in school, surprised ones or not and he did it even
until I reached college and up until my second job after my graduation from
college. He would tell me that he was dropping by my school and office everytime
he was in Cebu and yeah right even until my 2nd degree course in Nursing, he
would popped out along the corridors of WNU to pay me a quick visit
and would make short chitchats with my group of friends. And, i’ve always loved
the feeling of introducing him to my friends especially when they would tell me
that I looked like Papa Nyahaha, the simple joys of being a daughter as what
I call it
He did soo much for our family, he worked so hard to send
us all to school and provide us a decent living and a comfortable life to a
certain extent. He’s a smart one and he really knows what he wants. I am not
going to bring in into details all that he has achieved because that would
make me boastful and too proud but whatever they all are that he has achieved
under his name, still, the best of it all and the most important at that is his
being a great father to me, to all of us, if not the greatest. 
I don’t ignore the fact that he has his flaws and
shortcomings as a father and as a person, well, we all do but still that
wouldn’t change the fact the he is my father and am proud of him and i love him
for who and what he is and i will never exchange him for any other father in the
world.
My Manang Rhoda would often tell me that that I was/am
luckier among us three (3) because I came in to the world when Papa started to
mellow, wherein he was no longer as strict as he was when they were my age,
wherein he was aging already and he was no longer that hard on things and well
maybe was more experienced when he and Mama had me in their early forties (40s).
Manang can say that again but sure thing she also love Papa as much as i do,
even more i guess, haahhaaa!
He doesn’t say much, he only observes you from a
distance but the moment he says his piece, its final and it should warn you or
else you will truly regret why you ever did such thing. But i know how to
appease him and make "parayg" so there’s always a thing for reconsideration in
our house. He listens and he gives you the chance to explain your
side.
He’s very jolly and peace loving…he doesn’t get himself
into fights, he doesn’t smoke nor drink, one bottle of beer is enough for him
when he’s caught around social gatherings, but he knows how to turn down such
invites and that’s what i like about Papa too, he knows how to decline within
reason. He knows his priorities and drinking and buzzing around town are not
just his way, he’d rather spend long hours in his garden or read his latest
issue of Reader’s Digest or prepare for the coming CNHS Alumni reunion wherein
he’s the president for the past 22 years, no wonder I am also into reunions and
get togethers myself, hahaha!
Well, this is getting longer than i wanted it to be, the
truth is i just can’t stop writing about him hehhe. There’s still a lot to
describe, to give thanks and credit, to remember and reminisce but if I wouldn’t
stop myself i’d end up not sleeping again for another night, lol!
I am just thankful, happy that GOD gave me my PaPa Rudy.
I can only pray and hope that he stays healthy and at peace, good natured and
humble. My only dream for now is that God will give him more years to live and
that He can walk me down the aisle in butterfly kisses when that special day of
mine happens in which only GOD knows when.
I can see in his eyes and I can feel in him that he’s
happy and proud of me and what i have become and it melts my heart always to
know that i’ve made him happy and proud at some point in his life.
Thank you soo much Pang for all that you are to me, and
to us. You will always be my hero and you will always be a part of me wherever I
may go. Love you so much.
Papa is not only my father but he’s my friend and most of
all he’s my teacher and fan, who will never give up on me even if everybody will
turn their back on me
HAPPY HAPPY FATHER’S DAY to the most groovy DAD in the
world! 
